The Week That Was…

Published 11:36 am, Monday, April 25, 2016

These are just a few of my thoughts on what has transpired at the local level of sports during the past week.

Pirates escape…

…A bad weekend for Thumb football teams nearly turned into a disaster for Harbor Beach.

When Whittemore-Prescott took a 7-6 lead over Harbor Beach, I had a sinking feeling in my gut.

Im pretty sure every Harbor Beach fan had the same feeling because it got really quiet, really fast.

For the first time this season, the Pirates were in serious trouble.

But they refused to let their season end like that.

Still, it took a couple of miracle plays to ensure Harbor Beach even had a shot to win.

On a 4th-and-10, with the season hanging in the balance, quarterback Tom Sorenson wouldnt allow himself to be sacked as he somehow got a pass attempt off.

Gabe Callender was there to keep Harbor Beachs season alive with one of the best clutch catches youre ever going to see.

Then Brad Mazure came up with another game-saver to set up Brett Buchholz for the game-winning touchdown to make it 12-7.

I cant say enough about the pass-and-catch from Sorenson to Callender, though. Sorenson was going down, but was still able to get a wobbly pass off while Callender was able to not only come back to the ball, but fight off two defenders while doing it.

If Harbor Beach goes to do great things this post-season, that single play will be looked at as the turning point.

It should also be noted that Callender got off some fine punts, including one on a snap that went over his head, but he was able to recover and get the ball off. Looking back, it was another critical play for the Pirates.

Through the course of the playoffs, every team has one of those games where it needed everything to go its way  Saturday was that game for Harbor Beach.

Ubly rolls…

…In one of the few games I actually predicted right, Ubly had little trouble with Unionville-Sebewaing Area in its rematch from Week 1.

Early, it was close as the Bearcats led 7-6.

But it was also evident that their offense was too much for the depleted Patriots.

USA was able to cut the deficit to 25-14 in the third quarter, but I never really got the sense that it could complete a comeback.

In the end, Ublys offense was the story as it racked up nearly 400 yards in the 40-14 victory.

Its the fifth time in the last six games since the return of Jordan Kaufman the Bearcats have went for 40 or more.

Defensively, Ubly had to adjust on the fly as USA threw a number of different offensive looks at the Bearcats.

The feeling I got from this game was the score could have been much worse, but Ubly wasnt as sharp as it could have been.

The final score doesnt indicate the level of domination the Pirates showed. They had their way on both sides of the ball.

Keep in mind, though, Ubly lost Grant Pichla on the second play of the game and it was still without Jordan Kaufman.

Confidence for Ubly was at an all-time low.

Thats not the case as the teams head into Saturdays rematch in the Division 7 district championship.

Ubly has dominated its opponents since Week 5  and seems to get a little better every week.

But the real question is can a team which was dominated so easily by its opponent recover and pick up a win?

Harbor Beach still has the best defense in the area. And if it werent for one big play, the Pirates would have shut-out Whittemore-Prescott.

Offensively, Harbor Beach is going to need to pick up the pace because 12 points isnt going to be enough to beat Ubly.

This has the potential to be a dandy as the Bearcats are out to prove theyre so much better than the Week 4 score indicates.

Meanwhile, the Pirates are out to prove they are the better team and theyll beat Ubly as many times as it takes to show it.

Deckerville rolls…

…I honestly thought North Huron had a chance in its Division 8 first round game with Deckerville.

I was wrong.

The Eagles came out with the playoff swagger they showed last year on their way to playing for a regional championship.

They dominated from the opening minute until the end, en route to a 40-0 decision.

Nothing went right for the Warriors while the Eagles could do no wrong.

Perhaps the most impressive statistic from this game is the shutout by the Deckerville defense, which hadnt put a zero up on any opponent this season. The shutout was impressive enough, but it came against a team which led the entire area in scoring during the regular season.

Deckerville will return home now, to host Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, a perennial playoff team every year.

The Lakers defeated North Central Thumb League champion Peck, 35-16 on Friday night.

If the Eagles can duplicated the focus and intensity they showed against North Huron, theyll be playing for another regional championship.

Pirates make history…

…So what if Harbor Beachs girls cross country team missed out on the Greater Thumb East title.

The Pirates made up for that disappointment as they came away with a Division 4 regional crown on Saturday.

Not too shabby for a school, which didnt even have enough runners to compete as a team last year.

Thats not the case this year, though, as Harbor Beach has an influx of sophomores and juniors, who have turned the Pirates into one of the elite squads in the area.

The only thing I would worry about is experience.

I know Harbor Beach competed at the very large Holly Invite earlier in the season  and their own meet is pretty big, as well.

But it can be an overwhelming feeling standing at the start, with some 300 runners ready to go.

I see Harbor Beach being able to accomplish its goal of a top 10 finish.

Meanwhile, USA and Ubly will bring their girls team to Michigan International Speedway.

The Patriots were the runner-up in the Division 4 regional while Ubly qualified due to an Michigan High School Athletic Association rule, which states that a team can go to the state finals if it puts four runners in the top 20.

Despite being fourth as a team, the Bearcats did that.

In the Division 3 boys, Cass City will take its team after placing third.

The Red Hawks top three runners of Lukas Varney, Dewey Mabe and Tyler Burke are clearly the best in the area  and should be looking for a finish in the top 75 or better.

In all, nearly 30 runners qualified, so it will be a busy day once again at MIS.

Performance of the Week…

…Marcus Kemp set the tone early in Deckervilles win over North Huron.

The junior running back scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns and added two more to turn in a fine post-season effort.

The back-breaking play was a 36-yard screen pass that the Warriors actually had snuffed out in the backfield.

Kemp made a couple of nifty moves and then raced down the sideline.

Hell have to keep it going if Deckerville is going to repeat as district champions.

Paul P. Adams is a sports writer for the Huron Daily Tribune and can be reached at (989) 269-6464 ext. 112 or padams@hearstnp.com. The Week That Was appears every Tuesday and Thursday.